FRANKLIN — A plot of land in Franklin, which once belonged to one of the first families to settle in the Simpson County area, is now home to the town’s newest nature park, something Franklin Mayor Larry Dixon said will be a “great asset to our community.”

“I hope this is a place where families and friends come to spend time together in nature and enjoy recreation time together,” Dixon said during an opening ceremony Wednesday.

Hoy Park occupies a little over 15 acres alongside Molly Avenue in Franklin. It is named for the Hoy family, who settled in the Simpson County area in 1809 before it was carved out of portions of Allen, Logan and Warren counties.

Tammie Carey, director of human resources and director of community services for the City of Franklin, said work on the park started in 2018, when the city applied for a Recreational Trails Grant through the Kentucky Department of Local Government.

Carey said Franklin was awarded $100,000 by DLG, but there were “several things” the city had to do before the money could be used.

“There’s a lot of hoops to jump through,” Carey said. “We jumped through more than our fair share, I do believe.”

She said work was done with the State Historic Preservation Office since a Hoy family cemetery sits on the site. Additionally, a small cave system nearby led the City of Franklin to work with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In September of 2019, the city was finally able to sign the grant agreement. However, Carey said more roadblocks were in the way.

“We quickly learned that there’s more to creating a walking trail than just putting down gravel,” Carey said. “We had to make sure the slope was right, and (there were) just lots of things involved.”

Clearing of the area began in the spring of last year, and closing documentation for the grant was completed in April, Carey said.

Franklin City Manager Kenton Powell estimates around 90% of the costs associated with the Hoy Park project were covered by grant funding.

The park will join several existing recreation areas in Franklin, including the Jim Roberts Community Park, the Jess and Mabel Bradley Community Park and Lincoln Park.

Unlike those three, which are managed by Franklin-Simpson Parks and Recreation, Hoy Park will be overseen by the city.

Powell told the Daily News this is because the park sits in a floodplain and because water runoff from the city flows into the nearby cave.

“From time to time, it was difficult for the city to access (the cave), to keep it clean, because when the cave becomes backed up, the water backs up in town,” Powell said. “It became a win-win.”

Even though the park is not part of FSPR, Powell described it nonetheless as “another connection of our park system.”